This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
This tapestry was inspired by the medieval tapestries I saw during my travels as a Winston Churchill Fellow and the medieval frescos I saw in Bulgaria. Many I saw depicted various Marys weeping over Christ but it occurred to me one would not be caught weeping in front of the murderers of one’s loved one, but as an accuser one would look back with dignity and a spine of oak. The idea had a personal resonance with me and this is the result, I as the weaver, and also a Mary (my middle name) gets to look out through them. The medieval images are known as the Lamentation of Christ, and I have called this The Lamentation as a nod to the original source.
Chrissie Freeth
Handwoven Tapestries
Below are details of some selected solo and group shows. For future events check out my Instagram account. A full list of past exhibitions and events can be found in my CV
Specialist Tapestry Tour
Kelmscott Manor
4th August 2026
Come and join the incredible tapestry artist behind Kelmscott Manor’s 2026 exhibition, Chrissie Freeth, for two exciting events at Kelmscott Manor:
Tuesday 4th August: Join Kelmscott Manor’s Curator and Chrissie Freeth for a specialist tapestry tour the Manor. The tour will weave its way through centuries: from Kelmscott Manor’s remarkable 17th century Samson tapestries, to William Morris’s own Acanthus and Vine tapestry, to Chrissie’s own tapestries displayed in Kelmscott Manor’s 2026 exhibition. Gain expert and ‘behind the scenes’ knowledge as you explore Kelmscott Manor’s collection with those who know it best.
Wednesday 5th August: Learn the art of weaving on an upright loom from Chrissie in this all-day artist-led workshop. Under the expert tutelage of Chrissie, you will learn tapestry techniques and create a sampler.
Spaces are limited on both days so head to our website to book your place now!
Further details, associated events and opening times here
Beginner's Tapestry Workshop
Kelmscott Manor
5th August 2026
Come and join the incredible tapestry artist behind Kelmscott Manor’s 2026 exhibition, Chrissie Freeth, for two exciting events at Kelmscott Manor:
Tuesday 4th August: Join Kelmscott Manor’s Curator and Chrissie Freeth for a specialist tapestry tour the Manor. The tour will weave its way through centuries: from Kelmscott Manor’s remarkable 17th century Samson tapestries, to William Morris’s own Acanthus and Vine tapestry, to Chrissie’s own tapestries displayed in Kelmscott Manor’s 2026 exhibition. Gain expert and ‘behind the scenes’ knowledge as you explore Kelmscott Manor’s collection with those who know it best.
Wednesday 5th August: Learn the art of weaving on an upright loom from Chrissie in this all-day artist-led workshop. Under the expert tutelage of Chrissie, you will learn tapestry techniques and create a sampler.
Spaces are limited on both days so head to our website to book your place now!
Meet the Artist
Kelmscott Manor
6th August – 7th August 2026
From the Kelmscott Manor webpage - Come and meet the incredible artist behind our 2026 exhibition Good Women: Contemporary Tapestries in Dialogue with Kelmscott Manor, new work by Chrissie Freeth. Chrissie will be on site to meet with visitors, share about the exhibition and her love of tapestry, and encourage you to have a go on our very own tapestry loom, where you can add a small section to our community tapestry panel. The tapestry panel is woven in naturally dyed colours inspired by Kelmscott Manor’s extraordinary 17th-century tapestries and will form part of a larger community textile piece which will go on display in the Manor in 2027.
Online Talk
Chrissie Freeth in Conversation with Heritage Crafts
18 August 2026
Join Heritage Crafts in conversation with tapestry weaver Chrissie Freeth, online on Tuesday 18 August 2026, 7pm (GMT+1) For millennia, the loom has been central to the lives of women and the art of storytelling. Join us for a fascinating evening with tapestry weaver and archaeologist Dr Chrissie Freeth as we explore how she continues this ancient tradition, transforming small personal moments, fragile memories and unconfronted experiences into large-scale handwoven tapestries. Chrissie brings a uniquely rigorous perspective to her craft. With a PhD in archaeology and a career that began in the museum sector, her contemporary practice is deeply rooted in historical material culture. In 2016, she was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship, allowing her to study medieval tapestry techniques first-hand across major collections in Europe and New York. Chrissie’s work has captured the attention of the international craft and art worlds. Her tapestry Saint Catherine was selected for the prestigious ARTAPESTRY6, Song of the Woods was shortlisted for the Cordis Prize and her striking piece Memento Mori was showcased at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. This conversation comes at a pivotal moment in her career. Alongside a recent grant from the National Lottery/Arts Council England to push the boundaries of large-scale weaving, her exhibition Good Women is currently on display at @kelmscottmanor – the iconic summer home of William Morris – in their first major exhibition of contemporary craft alongside the Morris family’s own collection, marking a spectacular dialogue between historic textile heritage and contemporary practice. The session will take place on Zoom and attendees must register in advance via https://chrissiefreethinconversation.eventbrite.co.uk or the linktree in our bio. Attendees will also have the opportunity to submit questions in advance on click. Write your text here...
Good Women
Tapestries in Dialogue with Kelmscott Manor
New Work by Chrissie Freeth
11th June – 31st October 2026 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday)
William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, famously looked to medieval tapestries for inspiration and guidance and his workshop produced famous tapestries such as the Holy Grail series. For some time I had wanted to explore his work and how it relates to my own fascination with medieval tapestry and when an opportunity came to exhibit at Kelmscott Manor, his summer home in the Cotswolds, I jumped at the chance.
The exhibition – Good Women - has been the focus of my work for the last couple of years. Kelmscott is the most magical place and it promises to be a taptastic year for the manor because they also celebrate the ongoing work to conserve their own tapestries and which were an inspiration for Morris.
Further details, associated events and opening times here
Summer Exhibition of the North 2025
New Light have organised their first ever Summer Exhibition and I am thrilled that The Waterbearers and The moon told me to tell you to fuck off have been selected by judges George Harris and George Vasey respectively.
The exhibition will take place at the magnificent arts hub, Sunny Bank Mills (83-85 Town St, Farsley, Pudsey LS28 5UJ). The exhibition will open on 8th July and run until 10th August.
This is all hot off the press so keep an eye out on the New Light and Sunny Bank Mills websites for more details as they emerge.
New Light Prize Exhibition 2023-2024
The New Light Prize exhibition celebrates contemporary art by Northern artists. The touring exhibition visited galleries across the North and in London and I was pretty chuffed that my tapestry Light Footfalls was not only selected for the exhibition, but was was voted as the favourite by the visitors to the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle. As my work is so inspired by medieval iconography and weavers I am always keen to avoid pastiche so it was reassuring to me that Light Footfalls was included among the work of these wonderful contemporary painters and printers.
The exhibition was seen at
The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate, 12-October - 31 December 2024
The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, 22 June - September 2024 (image right)
Rheged Arts Centre, Penrith, 14 March - 2 June 2024
Bankside Gallery, ASouthbank, 26 February - 3 March 2024
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead 29 September-22 December 2023
Details of the shortlisted artists, a catalogue and the work of the other prize winners can all be found on the New Light website.
Tales from the Loom
Solo exhibition, 4-6 May 2024
Because it takes so long to make tapestries and I always like to show new work, I do not exhibit too often. However the Saltaire Arts Trail which takes over the UNESCO World Heritage Site where I happen to live, gave me the opportunity to show my work on my home turf. The wonderful organisers set up the solo exhibition in the United Reformed Church with its stunning Italianate architecture.
The exhibition proved that churches are the natural habitat for tapestries, even when their influences are centuries apart. Visitors were non-stop and came from around the country to visit it. Seeing visitors sitting in the pews just taking my work in is a sight I will not forget. Of course they could have just been knackered and glad of a chance of a sit down.
The Saltaire Inspired website here.
Beyond Words, Ripon Cathedral
solo exhibition, 2022
It has been argued that after the Renaissance tapestries began to imitate paintings, and the inherent qualities that made medieval tapestries a unique art form became diluted. I travelled to France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and New York to study medieval tapestries as a Churchill Fellow to better understand what those inherent qualities and techniques were. This exhibition charted the growing influence of that research on my practice. It demonstrated my growing acceptance and appreciation for the true nature and limitations of the medium and an ever growing reliance on medieval technique and the increasing use of symbolism as a tool in the storytelling which is what motivates me as a weaver and artist.
This exhibition was initially planned for 2020 but inevitably was postponed because of Covid. The impact of the pandemic is evident in the later tapestries on show. Most of my earlier tapestries looked to family history for storytelling inspiration, but during lockdown I developed the means to look inward for stories. They are highly personal and introspective, but I hope they have resonance with others.
Tapestries take months to weave and demand considerable wall space and this is the first time I saw my work to date hanging together. Tapestries have a long association with Cathedrals. Seeing my work, so inspired by the work of medieval weavers, in this medieval environment is a real privilege
The exhibition ran from 28th April – 25 May 2022. And is one of many events that celebrated the 1350th anniversary of the Cathedral’s founding.
Royal Academy, 2021
Royal Academy, London
Although not always too favourable towards textiles, the 2021 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition coordinated by Yinka Shonibare under the theme of Reclaiming Magic, meant it doors were for opened for nontraditional work and artists.
I was thrilled that one of my tapestries, Memento Mori, was accepted. It was a huge confirmation for me that I was on the right path with the decision I made to devote myself to making tapestries, however hard it can be.
The exhibition took place in the wake of Covid, from 22 September 2021 to 2 January 2022.
Cordis Prize for Tapestry Shortlist Exhibition
Inverleith House Gallery, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
The Cordis Prize is a biennial event founded by Miranda Harvey and Ian Rankin. It seeks to celebrate ambition and scale in contemporary weaving worldwide. In 2021, the fifth and latest iteration, Song of the Woods was shortlisted and joined the exhibition at Inverleith House Gallery at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. The exhibition ran from 23 October - 12 December 2021.
Artapestry6, 2021-2022
Artapestry seeks to promote and encourage innovation in contemporary tapestry. It celebrates the best of tapestry across Europe and in 2021 40 artists across 16 countries took part. My Saint Catherine tapestry was included.
It was the first time I had shown work alongside other weavers, many of whom I had admired for years. It was a huge honour. Alas Brexit has made it difficult to reapply, but you can see the work of artists taking part in Artapestry6 here. Artapestry7 is currently in progress.
Artapestry6 exhibited at
ArtCentre Silkeborg Bad, Denmark, 16 January - 18 April 2021
Gulbene Municipal History and Art Museum, Latvia, 20 July - 1st October
Kulturcentrum Ronneby, Sweden, 13 November - 10 January 2022
SINKKA Art Museumat Kerava, Finland, 15 May - 30 September 2022
